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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. scale — in music
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. stock — shares
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. game — a match
  12. stock — goods
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. tube — a container
  19. track — to keep track
  20. tube — the underground
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. snap — to speak sharply

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com